Washington gets in early on rising 2026 QB Ryan Hopkins

Washington made an early bet on a 2026 passer, extending an offer to JSerra Catholic quarterback Ryan Hopkins on Thursday.

The Washington Huskies’ 2026 recruiting push continued on Thursday with an early offer to quarterback Ryan Hopkins, a California recruit who holds just three other FBS offers, according to 247Sports.

Hopkins, a junior at JSerra Catholic – the same high school as three-star Washington commit Jake Flores and four-star linebacker target Madden Faraimo – is in his first year as a varsity starter, leading his team in both passing and rushing yards. He threw for 681 yards and 8 touchdowns while rushing for 391 yards and 6 more scores before league play, earning him a spot on a Breakout Player of the Year watchlist in California’s CIF Southern Section at the beginning of October.

Major school interest has followed, as Hopkins has received offers from Michigan State, Missouri, and Wisconsin over the last month before the Huskies reached out on Thursday. He has visited both Big Ten schools since then.

A 6-foot-3, 195-pound dual-threat passer, Hopkins is currently rated as the No. 59 quarterback in the class by 247Sports. But, leading JSerra, the No. 45 team in the country and No. 6 in California according to MaxPreps, to a 6-3 record is sure to draw more recruiting attention for the junior.

Coach Jedd Fisch may hope that his early overtures to Hopkins will make a difference as he searches for a quarterback in the 2026 class. The Huskies will turn the reins over to Demond Williams next season and have Dash Beierly, another CIF Southern Section star, and Treston Kini McMillan committed in 2025 but have largely struck out on 2026 recruits so far. Four-star Helaman Casuga was the latest to turn down the Huskies when he committed to Texas A&M earlier this month.